When growing up in Adelaide, there seemed little doubt that Adam’s world would eventually centre around cooking. “I first remember cooking when I was eight or nine and living with my mum and stepfather,” explains Adam. “With my stepbrothers and sisters, there were eight of us kids in the house and once a month, it would be the kids’ turn to make dinner.”
“We moved around a bit when I was younger, like over to Malaysia, and there would always be some kind of food that I had loved – and wanted to cook – for the whole family.”
He moved to Japan six years ago, where his love affair with food blossomed. And after forging a successful career as a lawyer, Adam handed down his verdict on his culinary future: he wants to open his own Japanese Izakaya, which is like a pub with a casual restaurant.
The opportunity to return home and step the path that would ultimately fulfill his culinary dream came in the form of MasterChef Series 2. Having lived in Japan he knew little about the series but in late 2009 he took the plunge, quit his job and returned to Australia to line up with 7000 others, all hopeful to secure a place in the top 50.
After nine intense, exhausting and exhilarating months Adam has seeing his dreams unfold. As the winner of MasterChef Series 2 he has worked in the kitchens of some of his biggest idols like Tetsuya, Gilbert Lau and Peter Gilmore. Plans for his Izakaya are underway as he and his business partners look for a location and the most coveted part of the prize package, Adam is writing his first cookbook. ‘Two Asian Kitchens’ a mix of Asian and Australian fusion with a nod to tradition and Adam’s unmistakable twist, was published with Random House in April 2012.
